Chapter Text
The return to the monastery was uneventful, if one excluded the three beasts in three days that the prince had brought to their professor.
More or less persuaded that Dimitri had indeed been bringing gifts to their professor, the former blue lion house was wondering what would come next. More gifts? Or something different? It was kind of silly, to pay so close attention to the strange courtship of Dimitri toward their dear professor. Foldan was still at war, and each of them had duty to attend to. But Dimitri was their friend, as well as Byleth, and they couldn’t help it.
Back at Garreg Mach, Dimitri was still avoiding everyone. He was hiding away in the chapel (Annette had checked, afraid that he had gone outside to hunt something bigger), and if they were new gifts, the blue lions hadn’t noticed. Or maybe their professor had finally warned Dimitri about bringing back bigger and bigger preys fought with his bare hands. It was kind of dangerous, and Byleth would surely prefer his former students alive and well.
An entire bear… he had fought an adult bear with nothing but his fists. What was he thinking? Surely the professor had put an end to this.
As things went, it was not long before they were back in the field. No camping this time, for the battlefield was close enough that it could be reached in the same day. The collective sigh of relief was unanimous. Byleth had raise an eyebrow but made no comment, blissfully obvious. Maybe his former students were simply tired and would rather sleep in a real bed?
The battle, as always, was still hard on them. They were at war. Killing was a necessary evil. Still, it was no less difficult to take a life. It was no less difficult to see Dimitri at his wildest.
Dimitri was fighting like a possessed man. He would slash, stab, crush, and destroy with the violence of a hundred men and the rage of a demon. The wildfire in his eye would run rampant, as well as his thoughts and words. It was hard to listen to his broken voice claiming broken beliefs. In those instants, Dimitri was no man, but a boar, a beast.
The rest of them usually stay cleared of him, allowing him space. Oh, Dedue was still watching his back, and Ashe kept an eye on him. Mercedes was always ready to provide him with a healing spell. Everyone was still perfectly aware of his presence. For he was still their prince, and he was still their friend. But for everybody's sake, no one stayed close.
Byleth was, again, the exception. When Dimitri’s speech became too frayed and his movements too erratic, the professor would rush to his side, and snap him back into action. Sometimes his mere presence would be enough to calm him a little. More often than not, it was an order that brought him back from the depth. Once that the full power of the beast had retreated, Byleth would nod, and return to another position, leaving Dimitri alone.
That was the usual pattern. But as the blue lions were learning, change was coming.
This battle had started like many others and had progressed as such. Dimitri was quickly left on his own, and his battle cries, nothing more than ferocious roars, resonated in the field. It was both the assurance that he was alive and fighting, and the cruel proof of his state.
The skirmish was taking longer than anticipated. For Dimitri, it was the riskiest. The longer fights went on, the higher the chance to lose himself even more. In those case, the professor would find him and stay with him for a little while. Today, it was not the case.
Dimitri himself went to find Byleth in the middle of battle. He was done with the foes on his side, and without waiting for further instructions, was rushing to the professor aid. Byleth himself was by no mean in danger. The bandits were numerous, but weak, and not one had landed a hit. Still, the former mercenary was taking his time, not risking anything. His blue lions needed his guidance, and he couldn’t afford to be hurt.
As his sword was clashing with that of the enemy, Byleth heard a war cry from his left. The next moment, the bandit he was battling was dead on the floor, a lance to the heart. Not losing a moment, Dimitri pushed forward, leaving Byleth behind him.
It was a deathly show Byleth couldn’t help but admire. It was a pain to his heart to see Dimitri in such a frenzy. But there was still something strangely beautiful in the display. Dimitri was a skilled lance user, and a powerful fighter. Uninhibited and unhindered, he was unstoppable. Distracted for a moment (what would his father think?), Byleth lost no more time following Dimitri in his fight. But he was fast, so fast, and for the rest of battle, Byleth couldn’t find a foe that Dimitri hadn’t striken down.
Byleth’s adversaries were the last of the enemies. With this problem dealt with, the former blue lions went back to the monastery. On the way, the professor was even more silent than usual. It was strange that Dimitri had come to him on his own. He hadn’t seemed too agitated. Byleth hadn’t felt the need to help him calm down a notch. Byleth himself had been in no danger, so there was no need to help. Plus, Dimitri hadn’t made a show of helping recently: he was fighting on his own, making use of the others' presence, as he liked to repeat. To use them until the flesh fall from their bone.
Maybe Dimitri had been looking for the next enemy to execute? Byleth frowned. He didn’t like the idea. But it could be the truth. Was Dimitri escalating, uncontrollable in his rage, searching for more and more corpses to add to his pile of offering? Was Byleth losing him?
Byleth decided. Next battle, he would try to keep a closer eye on Dimitri and try to avoid pushing him in too much killing.
In the next battle, Byleth hadn’t been able to hit anyone, as they were all dead before he could approach.
Dimitri had been…
Remembering his previous resolve, Byleth had stayed close to Dimitri, to watch him. Dimitri had immediately noticed. And as a result? He had seemed even more determined to kill everyone before they could even near Byleth. Dimitri was not used to fighting with someone anymore. Maybe that was it? Forgetting that there was someone with him to face the brunt of the enemy and alleviate his burden? But the professor was unsure. The bloodlust hadn’t seemed too different from previous battles. But he hadn’t let a single kill for Byleth. As if Dimitri was always needing more and more. Or was it some sort of revenge for Byleth presence, feeling like a child under supervision?
Byleth was getting worried. Dimitri was throwing himself into battle. It was dangerous. He was taking unnecessary risks. Those battles were but skirmishes against thieves and bandits, not a fight against the Empire. What was he trying to achieve?
As Byleth had followed Dimitri in his killing spree, the professor had spent more time healing the prince than anything else. He had had no time for enemies (who were otherwise swiftly killed by Dimitri), and barely any time to strategize and direct the rest of the blue lions. This wouldn’t do. Why was Dimitri so determined to fight so many enemies? Did he really think his life of so little value? Couldn’t he see that his death would crush all the remaining hopes his friends had? That his death would devastate his friends? And devastate Byleth too?
Byleth didn’t want to lose anyone else to this war. Staying by Dimitri side hadn’t work? He would need a more aggressive approach.
Byleth solution was simple: cut all enemies before Dimitri could.
As the blue lions were preparing for battle, Byleth had come to stand by Dimitri side. His presence had been noticed immediately. Usually, Byleth would have been ignored. Not today. Dimitri had raised his head from his lance to Byleth. The bloodthirsty look in his eye was back, like before any fight. But the spark of something warm was here too. So Dimitri wasn’t resentful like Byleth had hypothesized some days ago. He could even be… happy? Satisfied was more like it. But why? Their eyes were locked on one another. Sizing, evaluating. In the field, Dimitri would be an animal. Would Byleth follow? The prince appeared to be searching for something in Byleth gaze. After a moment, he nodded. Good. The predator was out to play.
Byleth was used to keeping a calm head. It was essential to stay alive on the battlefield: you couldn’t make a call if emotions were getting in your way. You need to stay level-headed, or you could get killed. The former mercenary never had any problem. Even as his emotions had started to alight, back in the monastery days, years of habits had been quick to put the mask back in place while in battle. It was a difficult path to thread, to both rely on your instinct and suppress your humanity. Almost like an animal of human intelligence. Or a machine maybe. A doll? Byleth wasn’t good with comparisons.
Dimitri clearly was a man of another caliber. On the battlefield, his emotions run rampant, both his fuel and his grief. He was feeling oh so much, pretending to have tossed all humanity aside. He probably believed it too. But Byleth knew better. The ghosts and the regrets, the voices…
But now wasn’t the time. Dimitri had stand up. Soon the battle would be upon them. Byleth had already given his instructions to the blue lions. It should be an easy battle to liberate a small town overrun by brigands. The professor should be able to concentrate on Dimitri.
Will he be able to calm him down? Or will he only exacerbate the problem? Regardless, Byleth had to try.
As Ashe spotted the first bandit, Byleth was already rushing ahead and leaving Dimitri behind. He couldn’t see his face of course, but was he angry? Surprised? But he had no time for speculation, as he was already facing his first enemy. Cut, parry, strike. Another one. It was a rush that reminded Byleth of his mercenary days. Back when he was the one following orders, focusing more on cutting the enemies in front of him and less on trying to assure everyone stayed alive. Byleth felt a pang of regret. Was he endangering his blue lions by trying to help Dimitri? No, they were capable. They had been for five years when he was sleeping. Still, the guilt remained.
The battle was over in little time. As he had planned, when Byleth turned over to Dimitri, he couldn’t see a single drop of fresh blood on his person. His lance was clean of gore too. In his eye, the spark was still here. On his face, there was something like a smile, however demented and twisted it appeared. The corners of Byleth’s mouth twitched.
The voice of Mercedes interrupted them.
“Oh thank the goddess professor you are alright!”
Byleth turned to the woman. Dimitri slipped away.
“We lost sight of you for a moment, and we were worried. Especially when you were…”
Mercedes face was somber, her usual smile fading.
“You should know better professor. When we saw you rushing into fights… Dimitri is already… We cannot lose you too.”
Oh. Were the blue lions thinking he was following Dimitri in his frenzy? Truly it could seem like it. He needed to correct the assumption quickly.
“Do no worry Mercedes. I’m still myself. By killing all those bandits before Dimitri had the chance, I was attempting to…”
What was he attempting? To calm Dimitri bloodlust? To prevent him from getting too caught up in his kills? To spare him from endangering himself?
“...help.”
Mercedes looked Byleth in the eyes, before nodding like she understood.
“Don’t do it again please?”
Byleth nodded in return. If his former students were so anxious, it would do no good to pursue this venture. The professor would need to find another solution to prevent Dimitri from overdoing it.
The rest of the blue lions didn’t know how to feel about the new changes on the battlefield.
The first time, when Dimitri had joined the professor fight on his own volition, they had hoped. Because he was clearly attempting to help, in his strange way. Facing the enemies with the professor and cutting down his foes. But as Felix had pointed out, the boar could have simply been done with his adversaries and looking for his next meal. Hope changed to fear. Was it possible? They though he was getting better, but were they losing him? The professor would know, and he would do something. He was the one who could help. And if nothing was done, they would think of something too!
Then the next time, Dimitri had fight Byleth’s battle. The professor sword had stayed clean of blood for the duration of the battle. It was at the same time impressive from the prince and incredibly dangerous. The blue lions knew Dimitri to be a greater fighter, but even for him it was beginning to be a little too much.
They had worried. Then Sylvain had pointed out that Dimitri was kind of showing off to the professor. Understanding had crossed the rank. Was it the next step of the strange courtship of Dimitri and Byleth? Demonstrating his abilities like an animal would do? Fighting and displaying his battle prowess? Showing he could protect the professor?
It was still stupid, but maybe they could understand the reasoning a little better.
But then, it was the professor who had fight Dimitri’s battle. And they were terrified. The professor had lost no time rushing into battle, cleaning the battlefield in swift strokes and quick cuts. His face was blank, no emotions in his eyes. It was no professor they were witnessing, but the famed Ashen Demon. They hadn’t known what to think. They had feared for the worst. Byleth had had a single focus of cutting down his foes that reminded them of Dimitri, when he was lost in battle. First, the blue lions were afraid of losing Dimitri. Would they lose the professor too? Thankfully, Mercedes had lost no time expressing her worries. Understanding had cross Byleth’s face, like he just realized what he had been doing. He had been quick to reassure his former students. It would not happen again.
They had no idea if Dimitri attempts at showing off had worked on Byleth, but the prince had been charmed. He had tried to smile! Like Byleth fighting for him and cutting down his preys was a great gift. For sure, the blue lions couldn’t understand.
Things went back to normal after that. Or… not really.
On his own volition, Dimitri was starting to get closer to Byleth in battle. He wasn’t stealing his kills or trying to single-handily defeat an army. It was more… subtle. The prince was defending Byleth back unprompted, slashing enemies that cut a little close. He was letting Byleth help, trusting the professor to be behind him in his assault.
They were fighting together. Dimitri was not alone on the battlefield anymore.
Maybe this courtship would do the both of them some good.